Université de Fribourg

Multimodal stimulus coding by a gustatory sensory neuron in Drosophila larvae

Giesen, Lena van ; Hernandez-Nunez, Luis ; Delasoie-Baranek, Sophie ; Colombo, Martino ; Renaud, Philippe ; Bruggmann, Rémy ; Benton, Richard ; Samuel, Aravinthan D.T. ; Sprecher, Simon G.

In: Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, p. 10687

Accurate perception of taste information is crucial for animal survival. In adult Drosophila, gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) perceive chemical stimuli of one specific gustatory modality associated with a stereotyped behavioural response, such as aversion or attraction. We show that GRNs of Drosophila larvae employ a surprisingly different mode of gustatory information coding. Using a novel...

Université de Fribourg

Sensory determinants of behavioral dynamics in Drosophila thermotaxis

Klein, Mason ; Afonso, Bruno ; Vonner, Ashley J. ; Hernandez-Nunez, Luis ; Berck, Matthew ; Tabone, Christopher J. ; Kane, Elizabeth A. ; Pieribone, Vincent A. ; Nitabach, Michael N. ; Cardona, Albert ; Zlatic, Marta ; Sprecher, Simon G. ; Gershow, Marc ; Garrity, Paul A. ; Samuel, Aravinthan D. T.

In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014, vol. 112, no. 2, p. E220–E229

Complex animal behaviors are built from dynamical relationships between sensory inputs, neuronal activity, and motor outputs in patterns with strategic value. Connecting these patterns illuminates how nervous systems compute behavior. Here, we study Drosophila larva navigation up temperature gradients toward preferred temperatures (positive thermotaxis). By tracking the movements of animals...